Primer valve



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INVENTR.

DAVID S. WILLIAMS TTORNE'YS.

lPatented July 24, 1934 'iJNiTsD STATES fPATENT OFFICE 704,637. Dividedand this application March 6, 1934, Serial-Nou '714,210

9 Claims.

This invention relates in general to improvements in valves, andparticularly to primer valves which are adapted for automatic actuationby water pressure that normally is contained in a Q water supply linebut which utilizes somewhat Y 1sY different mechanical principles fromthose set forth in my co-pending application for improvements Primervalves, Serial No. 704,637, filed December 30, 1933, out of which thisapplication has been divided to comply with rule 41 of the rules of'practice in the United States Patent Office, and from those set forthin my copending divisional application for the improvements in Primervalves, Serial No. 714,805, iiled March 9, 1934.

v'Ihe subject matter of this application is capable of fulfilling all ofthe objects set `forth in the above-identified co-pending applications,insofar as the subject matter common to the three is concerned, and,while the device illustrated as usually generated in sewers andotherdisposal units cannot enter into houses orfbuildings'from such sewers orother disposal units.'

A11-important object of my invention is to provide a valve which, wheninstalled directly or indirectly 1n a water supply line running to orfrom any service connection, will automatically maintain a predeterminedamount of water as a seal against escaping obnoxious gases and/ or willcompensate for water losses in devices connected thereto due to use,evaporation, leakage or other causes.

` An equally important object of my invention is to provide means forpreventing foul water and air to be siphoned from any drains into thewater supply line.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simple,practical, inexpensive and emcient primer valve which may bemanufactured at low cost and withinV a minimum of time.

The invention is directed to other objects and possesses other featuresof novelty and advantage and consists in the new and useful formation,construction, combination and'interrelation of parts, members andfeatures, all of which will be more apparent from the followingAdetailed description, having reference to the accompanyi ingvdrawing-which; illustrates two Vembodiments by which the invention may berealized and in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional, side view of a priming unit embodying myinvention, showing the position of the valve when the liquid inthesupply line is at rest.

Figure2 is a sectional, side view of a primin unit embodying myinvention, 4showing the position of the valve when the liquid in thesupply line is in motion.

Figure `3 is a fragmentary, side View, partially in section, of thepriming unit illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, showing, in` addition, aresilient member positioned in such manner as to normally maintain themovable portion of the valve in the position shown in Figure l.

Figure 4 is a sectional, side view of a priming unit embodying aslightly modified form of my invention, showing the position of thevalve when the liquid in the supply line is at rest and further showinga slightly modified form of vent arrangement.

Figure 5 illustrates a water supply line to which a standard type offaucet is attached and also to which a priming unit embodying myinvention is directly connected and further indicating the manner ofconnecting said unit to a water trap.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all of the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

-The preferred form of my invention is completely illustrated in Figures1 and 2, wherein reference character A designates generally'the primingunit. The valve-body or casing 1 has an internal threaded boss 2 and anexternal threaded boss 3 extending in the opposite direction from boss 1but in direct alignment therewith. A dividing wall or diaphragm4`separates the passageway formed between two bosses into chambers 5 and6. The dividing wall or diaphragm 4 has an opening 'lvdisposedtherethrough, whose circumference is materially less than thecircumference of the inner wall-of the passageway. A port 8 is disposedthrough'the lower portion of the diaphragm 4, and assists in moreeffectively equalizing the pressure throughout the interior of thevalve-body when the water supply is cut off.

' Internal threaded boss 9 extends upwardlyv from the valve-body 1 andhead-cap 10 is threadably secured'thereto. The head-cap is formed with achamber 11 therein into which enters aI portion of the'valve-stem 32,hereinafter tojbe more particularly described. A guide-flange 12is'formed about the periphery of the chamber 11 and acts as a guide forthe valve-stem 32. If it is desired to supplya resisting force. againstthe upper portion of the valve-stem 32 tobede-4 scribed, a resilientmember 13, such as a rubber diaphragm, `may be placed Within the chamber11, as graphically indicated in Figure 3, wherein there is shown thebase 14 of the resilient member resting against the ceiling 15 of thehead-cap 10 and the apex 16 of the diaphragm 13 resting 5 against thetop of the valve-stem 32.

External threaded boss 17 extends downwardly from the valve-body 1 andis in direct alignment with the internal threaded boss 9. A flangeguide18 extends upwardly from boss 17 into chamber 5. A hollow-stemorsupply-tube 19 is removably disposed within the boss 17 so that the apex20 of the supply-tube 19 is positioned below the ilange-guide 18. Thesupply-tube 19 has a flange 21, which rests against the face 22 of theboss 17. A restricted opening 23 is formed through the apex 20 of thesupply-tube 19.

A vent-assembly 24 has a bore 25 therethrough. One end of thevent-assembly 24 has a fiange 26 adjacent its periphery, and the otherend has an i internal threaded boss 27 formed therein. The vent-assembly24 is connected to the valve-body 1 by placing the'flange 26 against theflange 21 so that the bore of the vent-assembly is in registerablealignment with the interior 28 of the supply-tube. Both of these flangesare held in connected relationship by union-coupling 29,

which. is threadably disposed on boss 17. A plurality of vent-openings30 extend through boss 27,

and a canopy or Vent-protector 31 is slidably disposed about thevent-assembly 24 and normally covers the vent-openings 3). Attentionmight well beV called to the fact that the vent assembly fulfillsseveral rimportant functions. Not only does the vent assembly permitinspection and i supply air to the supply tube, but it also eliminatesthe possibility .of a Siphon action taking place between the supply tubeand the drain to which the vent assembly is connected. Thus thepossibility of foul water and air in the drains being @n siphoned intothe waterV supply line and contaminating the water therein is entirelyprevented.

The movable member of the priming unit consists of a valve-stem 32 thathas a resilient element 33, such as a valve-washer, removably secured toone of its ends. This end normally rests against opening 23 in thesupply-tube 19 so that the washer effectively seals the opening in orderto; preventanyr liquid entering into the interior 28 of the supply-tubewhen the liquid in the supply line is at rest; The valve-stem passesthrough the opening 7 in the diaphragm 4 and is held in relativelyvertical `position by guide-flanges 12 an-d 18. A weighted iiange 34,whose outer circumference is substantially equal to the circumference ofthe opening 7, is secured to the valve-stem 32 and is positionedthereon, so that when the end of the valve-stem 3.2, which hasvalve-washer 33 therein, is at rest uponvthe apex 20 ofthe supply-tube,thus sealing opening 23, the base 35 of the mi weighted flange is placedimmediately adjacent the upper portion of the diaphragm 4. By thisarrangement the full weight of the valve-stem assembly is applied uponthe apex 20 to seal effectively opening 23, and, at the same time, for65, all practical purposes, to seal opening 7. A

supply-port 36, the function of which is to keep a ready supply of wateraround the apex 20 of the supply-tube 19 ready to enter within theinterior 28 thereof when the valve-stem assembly is,

* body 1 shown Figuresl and 2,- but whose'inl terior is slightlymodified. The chamber 11 of the head-cap 10 is smaller in area, thuseliminating the necessity or flange l2 shown in Figures l, 2 and 3. Thediaphragm 4 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is modified so that there isprovided a practically unrestricted passageway between bosses 2 and 3,thus providing a straight-way valve through which the liquid in a supplyline may pass with greater freedom of movement, since the port 8 ismaterially increased in area as shown at 37 so that a greater proportionof water can pass directly from chamber 5 into chamber 6 instead ofrequiring a greater proportion of the liquid to pass through opening 7into chamber 6 as required in the construction illustrated in Figures 1and 2. Guide-flange 18 is' also slightly modied by reducing its over-allarea ,and Lby adding thereto an additional supply-port 38. Thevalve-stem 32 is substantially identical in construction as thatillustrated in Figures 1 and 2 with the exception that thecircumferential area of the lower portion is materially reduced, therebypermitting the weight of the flange 39 to be materially reduced, but itscircumferential area is still substantially identical to thecircumference of the opening 7. It is obvious that the resilient member13, illustrated in Figure 3, may also be applied to this modied form ofthe invention to perform the identical functions for which it isintended.

The vent-assembly 24 has also been slightly modif-led but performs theidentical functions as the vent-assembly heretofore described. Themodified form consists of an internal threaded member 40, which has aplurality of threaded arms 41 extending from the top 42 of the member 40and inclining inwardly. These arms are threadably positioned upon thehollow-stern 43 cf the vent-assembly 24, and, by this construction,vent-openings similar to those illustrated in Figures l and 2 areautomatically provided. A slightly modified form of protector orventcover 44 is slidably positioned with respect to the stem 43.

There is illustrated in Figure 5 one of the valves directly connectedwith a supply line. Boss Z'has threaded therein conduit 45, coming froma source of water supply not shown, and conduit 46 yis joined to boss 3by union-coupling 47. VConduit 46 is shown connected to a standardfaucet 48, but it is obvious that conduit 46 may be connected to anyother service outlet without affecting the operation of the invention.Boss 27, through proper conduit connections, may be joined with a draintrap 49 or with any 'other contrivances which require an intermittentsupply of water. either for purposes of efecting a seal or for any otherpurpose. The application of this invention to a drain trap should not beconsidered a limitation to its use since the invention has a wide rangeof utility and may be applied to other arts and for other purposes.

Modus operandi It is well known that water systems are con? structed sothat sufficient pressure is maintained in all supply lines either bynatural or artificial means. t is the purpcse of the invention toutilize the pressure maintained within ywater supply linesfor'permitting the automatic actuation of a valve in order' to permitsomeA of the VVwater within the lsupply line to bediverted and by'-passed for the purpose of producing a water seal or for any purposewhere it is desired! to maintain automatically af substantiallyconstantsups- 158 me Y ply of Water. When a service outlet is opened,the water within the supply line is put into motion and surges forwardtoward the valve assembly. As the water rushes into chamber 5, its flowis suddenly diverted by diaphragm 4, causing a turbulence of suiiicientforce to raise the valve-stem assembly as the water seeks to enterchamber 6 through opening 7. When the valve-stem assembly is raised,opening 23 is uncovered and water is permitted to enter into theinterior 28 of the supply-tube 19, as shown in Figure 2, and from therethe water enters into the water-trap or any other contrivance to whichthe vent-assembly is connected. When the service 4outlet is closed, thesurge of the water is reduced and the water in the supply line is put torest and consequently the weight of the valve assembly is suiiicient tocause the valve-stem to reach its dormant position and to seal eectivelyopening 23, as shown in Figure l.

The invention has been described in connection with two specic,illustrative embodiments disclosing a denite arrangement of parts.However, it will be understood that a wide range of variants thereof arepossible to those skilled in the art without departing from the broadspirit of this invention, since the invention, in its broader aspect, isnot limited to the speciiic construction herein described and shown, aschanges in the size, proportions, arrangements and mechanical relationsas well as additions, lomissions and substitutions in the form or partmay be made which fall within the scope of the subject matterincorporated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and upon which Idesire to secure Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a body memberhaving an inlet passageway and an outlet passageway, a wall disposed inspaced relationship between said passageways, means, disposed within thebody member and passing through the wall, responsive to the pressure 0Ithe water passing through the body member, and a hollow stem removablydisposed within the body member in direct alignment with said means,said hollow stem having an opening therein adapted to be sealed by saidmeans when said means is in normal dormant position.

2. In a device of the class described, in combination, a body memberhaving an inlet passageway and an outlet passageway, a diaphragmdisposed between and dividing said passageways, means disposed withinand vertically movable with respect to the body member and passingthrough the diaphragm responsive to the pressure of water passingthrough the body member, a hollow-stem removably disposed within thebody member in direct alignment with said means, said hollow-stem havingan opening therein adapted to be sealed by said means when said means isin normal dormant position, and a vent-assembly removably secured to thehollowstem.

3. A device characterized as in claim 2, wherein the vent-assemblyconsists of a conduit in registerable alignment with said hollow-stem,ventopenings disposed through said conduit, and a vent-protectorsurrounding said conduit and normally covering said openings.

5. A priming unit of the class described comprising, a body-memberhaving a plurality of bores therethrough, a diaphragm dividing all ofsaid'bores into chambers, said diaphragm having an opening therein and aport therethrough, a supply tube removably disposed within one of saidbores, said supply tube having a restricted opening at one end thereof,and a valve-member disposed within the body-member and verticallymovable therein, said valve-member adapted to normally cover therestricted opening in the supply tube and the opening in the diaphragmand to respond to the pressure or the water passing through thebody-member to uncover said openings.

6. A device characterized as in claim 5, including a vent-assembly inregisterable alignment with the supply tube.

7. In combination with a source of water supply under pressure, aprimer-valve having a body-member which has two passageways at rightangles to each other passing therethrough, a diaphragm disposed in suchmanner within the body-member as to divide said passageways intochambers, said diaphragm having an opening therein, a supply tuberemovably disposed within the lower portion of one of said passageways,said supply tube having a valve-seat formed at one end thereof with anopening therethrough, and means positioned upon said valve-seat fornormally maintaining the interior of said supply tube out ofcommunication with said chambers and for normally maintaining theopening within the diaphragm in a relatively covered condition, saidmeans adapted for vertical movement and responsive to water pressureapplied thereunder.

8. A primer valve, comprising a body-member having an inlet passagewayand an outlet passageway, a diaphragm dividing the body member into aplurality of chambers and having an opening therein disposed betweensaid chambers, a hollow-stem, having an opening therein, removablydisposed Within the body-member, a valvestem vertically movable withinthe body-member and being in registerable alignment with the valve-stemopening, and a flange disposed about the valve-stem, said valve-stemassembly adapted for being moved vertically by water under pressure.

9. A device characterized as in claim 8, including means for guidingsaid valve-stem in its vertical movement with respect to thebody-member, a vent-assembly removably secured to the hollowstem and incommunication therewith, comprising a conduit, a vent-creating memberthreadably disposed thereon, and a covering slidably disposed withrespect to the conduit and normally covering the vent member.

DAVID S. WILLIAMS.

